Japan announced a total of 45 billion yen (about 400 million U.S. dollars) in official development assistance for the next three years to its Pacific friends as leaders of Japan and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) member states concluded their two-day summit on Saturday in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.

The aid includes providing assistance for human resource development, infrastructure development, technical assistance to address infectious diseases such as avian influenza and HIV/AIDS, and tsunami countermeasures such as the introduction of an early warning system, Kyodo News reported.

In a joint declaration issued at the end of the summit, Japan and the 16 member states of PIF agreed to promote cooperation into a new form of alliance, called the Okinawa partnership, to achieve a stronger, more prosperous Pacific region, Kyodo said.

The PIF member states renewed their support for Japan's bid for the permanent membership of the UN Security Council, the declaration reads.

Analysts believe that seeking support for its desired UN Security Council membership is one of the decisive reasons for Japan's showing of friendly gesture and substantial aid to the Pacific island nations.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi presided over the summit with Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Michael Somare, who chairs the PIF.

The Japan-PIF Summit meeting has been held and hosted by Japan every three years since 1997. The 16 participating Pacific island nations are Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, French Polynesia and New Caledonia.

Source: Xinhua